Nick,
Again, let me emphasise that I am not representing Vodafone in any way, shape, or form. I would venture guesses, however, on your questions below:
>Or will subsidies continue at the same rate?
I don't think they will. With ARPU falling across the world, maturity of markets meaning that subscriber growth is slowing, and competitive forces playing a role even in Japan, it seems inevitable that subsidies will *at some point* need to be lowered. However, if profitability is secondary to market share, as could be said of the Japanese market, and there are new entrants, the fall in subsidies could take some time.
>How exactly is portability going to affect the market?
It will probably become more like Europe or the U.S. in one regard: In order to be eligible to purchase a subsidised handset, a customer will probably be required to sign a one or two year contract.
Best,
Nik
Received on Tue Feb 15 07:54:14 2005